No Late-Game Drama Necessary In Playoff Clincher

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/14/24)---Concordia made sure there would be no late-game drama on the way to its first MIAC playoff berth since 2016. The Cobbers dropped a season-high 51 points in the first half and rolled over St. Olaf 97-59.

The victory secured a spot in the conference tournament for the Cobbers, who will be appearing in the postseason for the first time in eight seasons.

Concordia is now 15-9 in all games and 11-8 in the MIAC. Both win totals are also the most since 2016 when CC finished in a tie for third place and fell in the quarterfinals at home.

The Cobbers had 13 players score at least two points as they put up their highest point total in a game this season and most since Jan. 27, 2018, when CC beat Macalester 100-81.

Concordia never trailed in the game. They bolted out of the gate by scoring 14 of the first 18 points, 24 of the first 31 and led by as many as 23 points in the opening half of play.

The Cobbers shot 59.4% from the field in the first period and held the Oles to 32.1% (9-for-28). CC also doubled up on St. Olaf's rebounds total (22-11) and posted an 18-4 advantage in points in the paint.

The only drama in the second half is whether junior Rowan Nelson would score his 1,000th career point. Nelson entered the game needing 32 points to eclipse the 1K mark. He finished the first half by going 7-for-7 from the floor and putting up 18 points.

Nelson needed only 14 more in the second half to reach the milestone and proceeded to help the Cobbers keep the lead to at least 20 points for the final 7:30 of the second half.

Nelson would score his 996th career point late in the game but was subbed off as head coach Tyler Bormann wanted to get his reserves some extra playing time.

Nelson needs only four points on Saturday in the team's regular-season finale to become the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.  

Nelson finished with a career-high 28 points and went 10-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from distance. It is the third time this season that Nelson has scored at least 20 points in a game and 10th in his career that he has surpassed that total.

Jacob Cook, Matt Johnson and Zach Jackson were the other three CC players who posted a double-digit scoring total. Cook and Johnson both had 13 points but got there on different paths. Cook was 6-for-9 from the floor, didn't have a 3-pointer and also added seven rebounds while Johnson went 3-for-9 from distance and had five rebounds.

Jackson tied his career-high in 3-pointers as he canned four shots from outside the arc and came away with 12 points.

Senior Nels Birkeland brought the crowd to its feet in the late going when he drained the second 3-pointer of his career.
 
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will host their annual Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 when they face St. Scholastica at 3 p.m.